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JACK AND THE TENUOSITY OF LIFE

We have a dog–two actually. Jack is not pictured so he cannot be readily identified in the event formal charges are levied against him. His formal name is Jack Daniels–the surname of Daniels representing a long line of Jacks stretching back decades. His brother’s surname is Pepper. Pep is highly educated, receiving his doctorates from two renowned schools of higher learning: University of Wyoming and Brigham Young University. Pep relishes his experiences at both institutions but doesn’t say much about either. It’s probably just as well.

Jack is threatening to get himself killed. His pending demise is due to his developing taste for goat meat. Ruth and my brother have a herd of these miserable creatures. Jack has snacked on two of the younger crowd; snatching the life right out of them as they attempted to escape his flashing teeth. Trouble is no one saw him dispatch the goats. Otherwise he’d already be heading for the last round-up. Seeing Jack eat fresh killed goat meat and seeing him kill in order to eat goat meat carries weighted consequences; one has an immediate execution penalty. It is a rule and the rule is not applied equally. If it even looked like he’d been eying a yearling steer, he would already be there, i.e. dog heaven, purgatory, dog hell, places like that. You see cows are important; goats not so much.

There is precedence for the unequal application of the rule. The old man had a dog–a good one. In fact, that “damn” dog saved his life. Dad fell into a sink hole and was having a difficult time getting himself extricated. The dog grabbed him by the coat sleeve and pulled him to safety. It was an event. It had everyone talking about and extolling the “damn” dog ad nauseum. Two weeks later the old man caught the dog chasing cows. And that ended that hero dog’s good graces as well as his life. The family still talks about that dog. Though dead, he’s still praised, eulogized, and held in high esteem. “One hellava dog,” my old man use to say every time the subject came up. “One hellava dog.” He doesn’t talk about that dog anymore because he’s dead, too.

That wasn’t the first time. When I was five my mother, dad, baby sister, and I went from Wyoming to Missouri to visit mother’s folks. It was a first. In the midst of leaving, my dog suddenly disappeared. I looked all over for him–everywhere I’d ever been. My searching was restricted by my short legs and limited vision. The old man told me the “damn” dog had swam across the river. The Big Horn was plenty wide so all I could do is stare at the other side and call him. He never came. I was a forlorn and pitiful sight. I found out fourteen years later that the old man had shot him so we could go visit my grandmother–so he wouldn’t have to worry about the “damn” dog.

It must have worked. My old man never seemed to worry– not about dogs.

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Cowboy Trivia

A cowboy on a trail drive was paid between 15 and 20 dollars a month. The trail Boss would make 35 dollars a month. The cook was paid twice what the ranch hands made. He got up earlier and went to bed later than the crew. After breakfast he packed up everything, hitched up the two or four horse team, and drove to the next camp area and prepare dinner and supper for the men. Sometimes he had to change camp twice in a day,

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Character of the West

But the West of the old times, with its strong characters, its stern battles and its tremendous stretches of loneliness, can never be blotted from my mind.
--Buffalo Bill Cody

Wyoming Facts

The bucking horse and rider seen on the Wyoming state license plates has become a recognizable symbol of Wyoming, and is more often referred to as the BH & R (bucking horse and rider) symbol. One of the best-known bucking horses of all time named "Old Steamboat" is said to be the horse behind this icon.
Old Steamboat was born on the Foss Ranch in Wyoming in 1894. His owners say he bucked from the time he was a colt. In 1898 after several unsuccessful attempts at breaking the horse, he was sold to the Two Bar Ranch.
The top Two Bar bronc rider stayed on him for about two seconds. An injury created an obstruction in his nose, and from that point on, whenever the horse went to bucking, they say he whistled like a steamboat. He thus became known as "Steamboat, the whistlin' hoss."

Words of Advice from Foster Smith

"I'll teach you how to know when to use a firearm. It ain't, boy, any time you get yourself all pissy. It ain't when you're angry. It is when you're hungry for venison. It is when someone is killin' your ma, your brother. It is when the fellow in front of you is fixin' to take your life."
--Foster Smith from "No Time to Trust"